Instigation: Nevilles Story
by Dragonmage438
Summary: This is about Neville, how he rekindled the DA, how he suffered for egging on its members, went into hiding, and continued to keep everyones spirits up until Harry came. And then its basically the end of book seven, from Nevilles point of view.
1. Chapter 1

Neville sagged into a chair in front of the fireplace in front of the Gryffindor common room. His whole body ached from his most recent detention in Dark Arts class. Malfoy had been the one who had administered the Cruciatus curse to him today, a painful reward for refusing to curse Dennis Creevy.

The common room was empty-it was late. Neville knew that he should work on some of his homework, because he was falling impossibly behind in class. But he was too tired to move.

He must have fallen asleep there, in the soft armchair, because when he opened his eyes, he was eleven, and hopping through the crowded common room.

"What happened?" Ron, Harry, and Hermione were the only ones who didn't think that Malfoys leg-locker curse was funny.

Hermione undid the curse with a quick wave of her wand.

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy." Harry said, giving Neville a chocolate frog.

"Thanks." Neville muttered. Even as he said so, however, he felt himself being shaken awake by Seamus.

"Neville! Are you allright?" He asked. Every Gryffindor knew that Neville was the only person in Hogwarts who had ever had to suffer cruel and unusual punishments for standing up against Voldemort.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Neville muttered, coming to consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes. It was still night, as far as he could tell.

"Luna told me in class to make sure you got back okay." Seamus said. Neville nodded, standing. He must have only been asleep a few minutes then.

"Thanks." He muttered. The idea that Luna cared that much about him was something he needed to store away for later thinking about. He stretched. It was time to get some of his work out of the way.

"Don't worry about it." Seamus said, seeing Neville reach for his bag. "When we heard that Malfoy was doing your detention, we knew you wouldn't be back for most of the night, and a bunch of us collaborated to get it done." He said with a smile. Neville couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why?" He asked. Seamus shrugged.

"One night of homework for making sure that people can still stand up for themselves, and for making sure that you don't kill yourself by working to hard, its worth it." He said. Neville grinned.

"You know what we need?" He asked, mostly to himself.

"We need to start up the DA again. We've never needed it more." He muttered. It was Seamus who grinned this time.

"Yeah we do!" He said, excited.

"Give me a few days to work on this." Neville muttered. He was still staggering with exhaustion. There was no way that he was going to be able to form coherent thought in a few minutes. He really needed to sleep.

But his dream had left in him the same desire to do something that Harry had left him the first time he had said it. Remembering that, Neville grinned to himself as he and Seamus headed up the stairs to the boys dormitory. He jumped into a fight with Malfoy.

Now he was going to do the equivalent, on a much larger scale. He remembered how Harry standing up to Umbridge had given everyone else so much hope. Now it was his turn to defy authority.

Neville fell into bed even before he got his clothes off. He was drained.

Even though he wouldn't remember it in the morning however, Neville didn't have nightmares for the first time since the beginning of the year.

"Hey Ginny!" Ginny looked around to see Neville coming towards her during breakfast. Slightly confused, she waited while he made his way past all the other house tables.

"Hey Neville! What's up?" She asked. Neville didn't answer until he was right next to her.

"How many of the old DA members do'you think still have their coins?" He asked mildly. Ginny looked at him, surprised.

"Since Shape's become headmaster? Every one." She said. Neville nodded.

"I thought so. Incidentally, do you know how to change the numbers on the things? I can't for the life of me figure it out." He muttered. Ginny smiled.

"So is the DA back on then?" She asked conversationally as Neville fished for the coin.

"Yeah. For next Thursday. Can you change the date to that?" He asked. Ginny nodded.

"Love to." She said fiercely. She took immense pleasure from tapping the coin once. All along three house tables, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Huffelpuffs alike stopped what they were doing to check purses and pockets, and in the case of Luna Lovegood, her sock.

Tiny exclamations along the tables, only audible to those who listened for them, alerted Neville and Ginny to the fact that the spell had worked.

"Awesome." Ginny said. "See you Thursday." And with that, she shouldered her bag and headed to class. Neville copied her.

"Are we starting the DA again then?" Luna asked eagerly, catching up to him in the hall.

"Yeah." Neville replied. Luna must have spread the news that the DA was starting again, with a new leader, because over the course of the week, every student who had signed up for the DA two years before that was still at Hogwarts came up to him to verify the date of the first meeting of the year.

Thursday couldn't come quickly enough. By the time it did, Neville had already decided on what he was going to say. He was ready hours before the meeting.

Instead of eating dinner, which he was sure he wouldn't be able to stomach, Neville headed up to the room of requirement. He felt suspicious about using it, after being caught there by Malfoy in his fifth year. He decided to test out an idea.

_Don't let anyone who isn't favorably connected to the DA enter the room of requirement._ Neville thought fiercely, three times. He hoped that it would be enough.

With at least half an hour before the meeting started, Neville decided to sit down and read from one of the tomes of defense. He was so drawn into it, he nearly missed the arrival of the first DA member.

"Hi!" Neville called to Seamus over the top of the book. Seamus waved.

"Its good to be back in here." He said quietly. His eyes raked the walls, as if drawing some sort of strength, or memory from them. Maybe it was because this was the place where Harry had been in his element, drawn to teaching others what he knew of defending himself, defying Umbridge, and fighting for Dumbledore. It was where his memory was most concentrated, and those who had admired him for his ability to fight back could gain their own strength from his memory.

Neville had gained this insight from Ginny, who had once let it slip to him that she sometimes came up to the room of requirement, just to remember how it had felt when she was able to do something about tyranny.

Ginny was the next one to arrive. Her brown eyes were determined.

"My mother would kill me if she knew I was rejoining the DA, now that there's more danger than just an insane teacher." Ginny said, laughing as she sat down next to Neville. He put the book back on the shelf as he replied.

"If we all had that attitude, then the world would have already fallen to you-know-who." He said quietly.

"Of course, if we were all rebel-raisers and instigators like you and Harry, then most of us would be dead anyway, because we'd be causing too much trouble." Luna had joined the conversation.

It didn't take long for the room to fill; there were a lot of students who had missed learning with the DA.

"Come on, its time." Ginny muttered. Neville nodded. His throat was dry. He stood, waiting for the room to fall quiet. He felt eternally grateful to Luna and Ginny for standing with him. Ginny was small, but her reputation with the bat bogey hex had spread throughout the school. And Luna was tall and blonde. She was beautiful, and people tended to listen to her when she spoke, even if it was about complete nonsense.

"Right." Neville said when the room was silent.

"This group was formed two years ago, by three people who are, at this moment, the three most wanted people in the entire country." He began. He wanted to remind each of the members of the fateful day in the Hogs Head.

"The three Gryffindors who founded Dumbledore's army are the bravest people any of us have ever had the fortune to meet." He continued. His voice was growing stronger as he spoke. He reminded himself of the purpose of this group. To defy, to rebel. And its leader had the mission of instigating the rebels, of leading its members to fight back fearlessly. He didn't know if he was without fear, but he somehow knew that he would do what it took to keep the fire set by Harry burning.

"And now, they are not here to lead us, when we need most to teach and to learn how to defend ourselves. We cannot, and will not lay down for Snape, or the Carrows, and ESPECIALLY not for their master." Neville didn't know where the words coming from his mouth were coming from, but it didn't matter.

"So I asked each of you to come today to ask you if you will renew the commitment you made to defy that which is wrong in our school. Will you?" The last words did not come out as a question. They weren't spoke by Neville, but by the same source that was giving him this speech, feeding him with inspiring words to spew out to his audience.

The resounding cheer was staggering. Ginny grinned determinedly. Neville knew that she was mad that Harry hadn't taken her with him when he, Ron, and Hermione, and she wanted to prove, to her parents, her brothers, and herself that she was capable of fighting back. It gave her immense pleasure to resurrect the DA.

"Who's teaching us then?" Neville should have known that Zacharias Smith would make this difficult. He really was pretty dense.

"Me." Neville said with a tone that dared him to argue. The Hufflepuff boy didn't. He had seen Neville's extraordinary progress the year before, and knew he was only a little less capable than Harry had been to teach.

"Now that that is settled." Ginny said. "Shouldn't we get down to official business?" Ginny asked. Neville nodded. He withdrew the parchment that every one of the DA had signed under Hermione's careful eye.

"There are several among us who haven't signed this, because this is their first meeting." Neville said. "If you have not signed this parchment, come up now to do so." He said. Eight or nine first and second years made their way to the front of the room. Neville was surprised that there were so many. Some older students came forward too, having been brought by their friends.

"Signing this paper means you are making a commitment and an oath." Ginny said as the first person signed.

"It means that you are agreeing to defy all that is wrong in this school." Luna said. It was the first time Neville had never heard her voice dreamy. It was determined. This change from her usual self was what, more than anything, impressed the reality of the situation on all the students present.

Once all of the newcomers had signed the paper, Neville taped it to the wall.

"I think we should do something that can openly oppose the Carrows." One of the first years said.

"Yeah, like paint slogans on the wall!" A third year girl said excitedly.

"Spell them, so Filtch can't get rid of them!" Colin Creevy interjected. Neville nodded.

"Any volunteers?" He asked mildly. When no one raised their hand, he nodded.

"Anything we would do to openly provoke fate will result one way-the perpetrator will be punished. I am willing to do anything to get the Carrows out of Hogwarts, but lets think realistically, okay?" He said. Ginny raised her hand. She had gone with Luna to sit among the crowd. She hated the spotlight.

"I volunteer." She said quietly Once she had done so, several other members raised their hands.

"Okay, fine. Lets do this in an organized fashion." Neville said, realizing that he wouldn't be able to dissuade them.

"Is there a Hufflepuff who can make sure that all of the members of his or her house are in the dorms before the person or people who want to paint a slogan goes out? And then, can that person make sure that all the members of that group get back okay?" He asked. To his surprise, Zacharias raised his hand. Neville nodded.

"When I'm done talking, if you're willing to risk getting in trouble to graffiti the walls, or sabotage the Dark Arts classroom, meet with Smith to give him your name. Smith, make two copies of that parchment, post one on the wall under the member list." Neville was speaking quickly now.

"A Ravenclaw who can do the same for their house?" He asked. For a moment, there was silence, and then a frail arm reached into the air. The Ravenclaw girl was thin and willowy, with dark hair and eyes. It was Padma Patil.

"Okay, Ravenclaws, give your names to Padma. Padma, make two lists like Smith. Put one on the wall next to the Hufflepuff list, and keep one with you. DO NOT loose that list." He said. He meant this for Smith too.

"And I'll do the Gryffindors." He said finally. He saw the look of disappointment of Ginny's face.

The next half hour was spent clarifying the growing lists of people who wanted to take reckless risks. Every Gryffindor signed up with Neville, eager to fight. Even the tiny Creevy brothers were determined.

By the time the three pieces of parchment were affixed, side by side to the wall, it was late. To the disappointment of the members, Neville told everyone to return to their dorms, promising a meet the next Wednesday.

"That was really good." Ginny said as they headed back to Gryffindor tower. Neville nodded.

"I just hope that none of them gets hurt." He said. Now that they were in the darkness of the hallway, he sagged. Uncertainty returned, replacing the iron determination he had shown to the DA.

"They will. But that doesn't mean you have to worry about it." Ginny said quietly.

"We are all of us able to stand up for ourselves. You know how frustrating it was when Harry didn't want us coming with him to the ministry because he was afraid we'd get hurt." She said bracingly. Neville nodded. He saw her point.

"Besides, this is war. There are casualties. And there are sacrifices that must and will be made." She said. Neville shook his head as Ginny told the Fat Lady the password, and they climbed through the portrait hole.

"Thanks Ginny." Neville said. The Gryffindors greeted him warmly as he past. They were positive he'd come through for them like Harry.

_Please God don't let them be wrong_. Neville thought desperately.

(More to come! What do you think so far?)


	2. Chapter 2

October brought with it blasts of frigid air, and the first golden brown leaves falling to the floor of the forbidden forest. But it was dawn, and the clear sky was a pale blue, with shafts of gold and pink setting the few clouds in the sky ablaze.

It was hard to feel sad on this kind of morning, Neville thought, looking out the window to his dormitory as he pulled his robes into perfect order. He had woken up early to go through several of the spell books from the room of requirement. Today would be the third DA meeting Neville had scheduled. The thought alone, on this bright, sunlit morning, made him feel absolutely euphoric.

Neville glanced towards the forbidden forest now, and his face fell. Here he could see the trees, brown and red, with their leaves cascading to the floor. Each leaf danced slowly in the cold wind before falling to the ground to be picked up, and cast across the grounds like a piece of useless trash. It was a reminder that the dawn was only a small beginning compared to the approaching ending-the ending of a year. Neville turned away from the window, grabbing his bag as he did. He would not be a leaf to be cast aside easily by Voldemort and the death eaters, in a freezing wind.

He and the rest of the DA, as well as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, would stand like the trees of the forest. He grinned at this analogy as he headed down the stairs-no matter how much the wind whistled and screamed, it could not bring the ancient forest trees down.

Heading down to breakfast, Neville wondered when he had become so philosophical. Maybe leading a group of fiery teenagers to fight the most evil wizard ever to haunt Britain gave one a broader perspective on life.

The Entrance Hall was empty. The few early risers in the school would already be inside, eating.

"Hi Neville!" Neville turned, seeing Luna right behind him. He started-he hadn't heard her coming.

"Hey Luna!" He felt his smile return as he waited for her to catch up with him.

"Nice day, isn't it?" Luna asked. Neville nodded in agreement. It was a beautiful day.

"I'm just glad we don't have classes." He said. When Luna looked at him, he blushed.

"It's going to be depressing enough with the wind howling like a tiny cub lost from its pack. I really don't want to ruin the day by having my wand play darts with professor Flitwigs head, or accidentally parting one of the Carrows from their limbs." He explained, in such a mild tone that Luna exploded with laughter as they walked into the Great Hall.

"Well, I'll see you later then," Luna said significantly, still trying to control her laughter. Neville nodded.

"Definitely." He said, as Luna broke off and headed towards the Ravenclaw table. Neville wondered why the houses had to sit together at breakfast. Nobody ate at the same time, so there was just a lot of empty space.

There were three Gryffindors at the table, Neville noted. One of them was Ginny, already wide awake, reading from a textbook she had opened in the empty space next to her, much, like Hermione had use to do, Neville realized, with a surge of pain. He glanced away, seeing Colin sitting next to a first year girl with mousy brown hair, looking suspiciously like his younger sister.

She was in the DA, Neville remembered, recognizing her. He couldn't recall her name, but he had seen in the last DA that she was merciless with hexes, like Ginny, and she was particularly creative and inventive when it came to suggestions as to how to get rid of the Carrows.

"Hi Neville." Ginny said without looking up from her book. Neville nodded a greeting, helping himself to orange juice and toast.

"Great Quidditch conditions." Ginny muttered to herself as she turned a page. Neville had to agree. It was a bright, sunny Sunday.

"You guys practicing today?" He asked. Ginny nodded sadly. She had been made captain after Harry had left, being the oldest member of the team. It was a mark of how far things had fallen, Neville knew, that a sixth year had been forced to take the Gryffindor captainship. She had almost refused.

"Don't know why we bother though. There is no way that we'll be able to beat Slytherin. In case you didn't notice, the school is a bit biased these days." She added. Neville could practically feel the storm coming. Ginny was in a foul mood.

It was a good thing that the owls chose this moment to enter the hall. The early risers of the school were the only ones who knew that the post came twice every morning on the weekends. A copy of the Daily Prophet landed in front of Neville, and he carefully unfolded it.

He glanced through the stories, and then threw it down again, unaware that he was mimicking the same action Harry had taken almost every morning that summer.

"Nothing useful?' Seamus asked, sitting down at the table." Neville shook his head. His mouth was full of food.

"I'm going to go meet the team. I told them to meet me on the pitch at five thirty." Ginny said, standing, snapping the textbook shut. She stalked out of the hall like an angry predator.

"Blimey, and I thought Angelina was channeling Oliver's spirit." Seamus muttered. Neville shrugged. He wondered what had Ginny in such an awful mood. He was sure it wasn't Quidditch.

In fact, he had his answer only ten minutes later, when he was standing in the hall. He heard laughing, and he turned around to see two sixth-year Slytherins entering the hall.

"Serves this stinking smart-ass blood traitor right." One of them said. The other nodded.

"She'll think twice before she opens that mouth of hers." He said with a grin. Neville knew immediately which Ravenclaw they were talking about. He knew he would like nothing more than to make sure that the sixth year never opened his own mouth again. He didn't care what they had lined up in store for Luna, but he was going to make them pay for it dearly.

In truth, the punch he threw hit the Slytherin on the nose, instead of the mouth, and it wasn't as hard as he would have liked, but there was blood gushing out of his nose like a faucet. His friend screamed, and it was very unfortunate that Snape chose this very moment to swoop into the Entrance Hall. He looked like he was about to hiss.

"Sixty points from Gryffindor, and detention, Longbottom. You can take it with Miss Lovegood, as you seem to share the same unfortunate trait that will make this year very hard for you. Come to the dungeons at eight, you will be spending the day there. Episky." Snapes speech was so smooth that it took Neville a moment to realize that the last word was a spell. The blood immediately stopped flowing from his nose, and Snape headed into the Great Hall. The two Slytherins regained their composure, and began laughing again, following Snape into the hall.

Neville headed out onto the grounds. He could see several figures in red and gold speeding through the air above the Quidditch stadium. Neville sighed. He wished he hadn't lost his temper, but he wasn't sorry for what he had done.

_First blood_. He thought with grim satisfaction, and then regretted it. There would be blood aplenty that would be spilt before this war would end. He didn't need to add to it.

The wind that he had seen from the window of Gryffindor tower whisked his clothing around him. It was freezing, but he was glad of the cold. It numbed his senses, making him forget the anger that had coursed through him when he had realized that the two Slytherins might have in any way harmed Luna.

And then he began to wonder when he had started liking Luna as more than a friend. It seemed impossible that on the day he had first really met her, he had been afraid to sit in the same carriage as her.

Then again, he had been afraid of a lot of things in the old days, he mused.

Neville glanced at the lake, seeing that it was a perfect shade of blue.

_The same color as Luna's eyes._ Neville's first thought was completely unhelpful and distracting.

_Shut up. _Neville's second thought was much more rational and reasonable. Neville decided to listen to it.

As he kicked a stone across the ground, Neville felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Luna!" He gasped. He would never get over her ability to move silently around him. She looked as serene as ever.

"You're frightened." She whispered. Neville shook his head.

"Of me?" She asked. She looked deep into his eyes. Neville had the distinct impression that she was reading his soul.

"Not of you." He said quietly. He tried in vain to extinguish the thought that followed it.

_Never you. _

"So you're going to be joining me in detention I guess." She said at last. Neville nodded, not knowing what else to do. It was clear now that Luna had been behind him for most of his loss of temper. He hoped that Luna would attribute the color in his cheeks to the wind.

"Yeah. I guess." Neville said.

"It was brave of you to stand up for me like that." Luna said.

"What did you do to get yourself in trouble anyway?" He asked. Luna laughed.

"I asked him weather or not they made you suck out your own brain through a straw to be in the service of the Carrows, because he really looked. It." She said. Neville couldn't help but crack up at that. He had no doubt that she ha spoken to the Slytherin in a voice so candid and honest that his friend might well have laughed too. And she had probably meant it innocently, which made it so much more hilarious. Luna was utterly guileless. He could just hear her voice in his head.

The problem was getting her voice out.

The two walked aimlessly around the grounds for two hours, in complete silence. They didn't need to speak to feel comfortable.

The sun had fully risen, and the wind had all but died by the time Luna finally spoke.

"We should get back. Its almost eight." She said. Her voice was so quiet that Neville nearly missed what she had said.

Nodding, he turned back to the castle. As they walked, Neville was thinking hard again. He was now completely and utterly sure of two things.

The first was that Luna was, in some large or small way, attracted to him.

The second was that he was completely and irrevocably in love with her.

As his footsteps echoed around the Entrance Hall with Luna's, he couldn't help but sigh just a little bit.

There was no convenient way for him to discover how much Luna liked him, and it was frustrating.

So instead, he decided, as they headed for the dungeons together, that he would ride it out with Luna, and just see where the tide would take him on that count. It was far easier to take control of the controllable aspects of his life.

Like fighting Voldemort. THAT was at least one thing he was certain of.

Luna's blonde hair brushed against his face as she slipped into the door leading down to the dungeons, and Neville had to force himself not to breathe too quickly as he followed her.

This was going to suck.


End file.
